Stanley Jordan at the Sellersville Theater

Long recognized for his masterful playing, American jazz/jazz-fusion guitarist Stanley Jordan has attained a level of musical integrity that few artists can hope to reach.

Known for his two-handed tapping technique (wherein he produces a note using only one finger by quickly tapping (or hammering) his finger down behind the appropriate fret) Jordan has long established a unique style of play.

Throughout his diverse career, Jordan has worked with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie to the Dave Matthews Band, making him one of music’s most versatile guitarists.

As a follow-up to his critically acclaimed “Friends” album in 2011, Jordan has begun work on his next release.

“I’m working on a new album that I’d love to get out this year,” says Jordan. “I’m really excited about it. I have some really great guests. This album is similar to my last album, but the concept is not really about great guests.

“One of the things I want to do is reach into the areas where I feel I’m under represented from my recordings and try to do some things I’ve been wanting to do, but for whatever reason I haven’t gotten around to do. There’s going to be some new stuff that people haven’t heard from me. So, I’m kind of excited about that.”

Growing up in Chicago, Jordan started his music career early. He played the piano at age 6 before moving to the guitar in his early teens, focusing on blues, rock and soul music.

Earning a degree in digital music composition from Princeton University in 1981, Jordan spent much of the 1980s performing at a number of prestigious music festivals, including the Kool Jazz Festival (1984), Concord Jazz Festival (1985) and the Montreux International Jazz Festival, also in 1985.

Jordan has performed with Quincy Jones, Richie Cole and Michal Urbaniak. He made his recording debut with the 1982 album release “Touch Sensitive.” Three years later he surfaced with his Blue Note Records classic debut album “Magic Touch.”

A seasoned veteran by the post millennium, Jordan collaborated with the Italian band “Novecento” on Steve Vai’s Favored Nations Record Label, releasing the hugely successful 2004 “Dreams of Peace” album.

With commercial success came frustration for Jordan. The musical limitations record labels were placing on artist found Jordan shifting his creative focus.

“One of my interests is music therapy,” says Jordan. “I’ve been studying music therapy to enhance the healing elements of my music. One of the areas where I work is in wellness. One of the things I do is play live music during therapeutic massage sessions. We’ve gotten a lot of reports from this that there is no comparison to listening to a CD. Part of it is that I change the music from moment to moment to fit what I think is happening with the massage. The interactive thing is part of it. I think that happens with an audience too. I think the fact that the performer responds to the audience is part of it. But there is just an indescribable thing that maybe we don’t have the recording technology yet to capture. It really comes through much better when you’re actually there.”

Jordan is a member and a spokesperson for the American Music Therapy Association and is currently working on his master’s degree in music therapy at Arizona State University.

As if Jordan didn’t have a full schedule between recording, concert tours and music therapy classes, he is currently offering a seminar called “The Keys to Optimal Learning For Music.”

“It’s not about chords and scales,” says Jordan. “It’s more about the philosophy of learning applied to music. There are a lot of universes that you can apply to other things besides music such as in the search for who you really are and finding the music that expresses and enhances that. Taking care of your body on every level, because anything that is good for you is good for your music, as long as your music is in harmony with your spiritual life and not opposed to it.”

Stanley Jordan performs at the Sellersville Theater, located at 24 West Temple Ave., Sellersville, PA, Tuesday March 19, 2013 at 8:00 P.M. Tickets are $25.00 and $39.50 and can be purchased by calling 215-257-5808 or on-line at www.st94.com.